To our Talent Fund family of supporters and friends,
From all of us at Telefilm Canada, we hope that you, your loved ones, and colleagues are keeping well in these unprecedented times. The world has certainly changed since our last e-newsletter and we continue to be grateful for your dedicated support of arts and culture, as well as our emerging filmmakers, now more than ever.
Like many of you, my colleagues and I are working remotely as our physical offices across the country are temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of Canada’s content creators and screen-based industries are at the heart of Telefilm’s operations and we continue to monitor the potential short and long-term impacts on our sector here at home and around the globe.
Despite this, as we look ahead and begin a new fiscal year – albeit in temporary period of challenge and flux – we are grateful for the ability to celebrate a successful 2019/20 year, filled with good news stories and the continued progress of our filmmakers. With your generosity, we closed out the 2019/20 fiscal year on March 31 with more than $2.29M raised in support of Telefilm’s $4M investment in Talent to Watch projects last year. More than 30 new features were supported and are now in various stages of development, with the help of over 60 industry partners who helped us discover emerging filmmakers from across the country. Thank YOU!
We know that we are in unique and uncertain circumstances, but we are committed, with your help, to moving forward to discover the 2020/21 cohort of emerging Talent to Watch filmmakers. Their stories will unite us, challenge our thinking, or take us on a journey to an unexpected and joyous place (even during times of trouble). As you read through this Spring edition, I hope that you share our pride in helping bolster the careers of emerging Canadian talent from coast to coast to coast, and in bringing their stories to life.
Stay engaged with Telefilm and the Talent Fund by visiting our social channels on Twitter, Instagram or and Facebook (@Telefilm_Canada), or email us at any time. If you’re looking to add even more Canadian content to your list of “to-do’s” during this period of social distancing, look for our emerging talent on streaming services such as Apple TV+, CBC Gem, CRAVE or other online platforms.
Thank you again for your love of film and for your commitment to the Talent Fund. We look forward to seeing you again very soon.
E.J Alon
Director, Talent Fund
P.S. if you’re on Facebook, watch a stream of a recent panel I moderated with Talent to Watch creators Reem Morsi, Arnold Lim, Winnie Jong and Gharrett Patrick Paon. It was an incredible opportunity to hear first-hand from our filmmakers on the impact of the Talent to Watch program on their lives.
